Bill Hayden

Hayden, the Govenor-General of Australia (1989-1996), has made it clear many times that he is an atheist. He was awarded the honor of 1996 Australian Humanist of the Year. In Australian Humanist, No. 41 February 1996 they state... "The award is made because he has shown that an avowed atheist who describes himself as a secular humanist can occupy the position of Govenor-General with mounting approval..."

In his acceptance speech for Humanist of the Year, as reported in Australian Humanist, No 42 May 1996, Hayden said... "To be a humanist, one has to exercise free will, to reason, to be rational, to avoid being the slave of some defunct ideology or the disciple of received wisdom." and later he says "Being an atheist - as I am - is not a necessary pre-condition for being a humanist..." and so on.